Page 57 - Amendment Center News Today

Alabama House Committee Passes Bill to End Federal Gun Control Enforcement MONTGOMERY, Ala. (March 11, 2021) – Yesterday, an Alabama House committee passed a bill that would set the foundation to end enforcement of federal gun control; past, present and future. Passage into law would represent a major step toward ending federal acts that infringe on the right to keep and bear arms within the state. Rep. James Hanes (R), along with five Republican cosponsors, introduced House Bill 157 (HB157) ...

Missouri House Committee Holds Hearing on Bill to Opt the State Out of Federal Asset Forfeiture Program JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (March 11, 2021) – On Tuesday, a Missouri House committee held a hearing on a bill that would close a loophole allowing state and local police to circumvent stringent state asset forfeiture laws by passing cases off to the federal government. Rep. Tony Lovasco (R-O’Fallon) filed House Bill 750 (HB750) on Jan. 7. The proposed law would prohibit Missouri law enforcement ...

ALBANY, N.Y. (March 9, 2021) – A bill introduced in the New York Assembly would create a process to sue police officers in state court for the deprivation of individual rights secured by the bill of rights, or the state constitution, without the possibility of either government immunity or “qualified immunity” as a defense for law enforcement. Asm. Latrice Walker (D) introduced Assembly Bill 5982 (A5982) on March 4. The legislation would create a cause of action in state courts to sue any...

Oklahoma Committee Passes Bill to Take on Federal Gun Control but Amendments Needed OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (March 8, 2021) – A bill claiming to make Oklahoma a “Second Amendment Sanctuary State” has passed a Senate committee, but would need further amendment to have any real effect or impact in practice. A coalition of Republicans introduced Senate Bill 631 (SB631) on Feb. 1. Titled the “Second Amendment Sanctuary State Act,” the proposed declares the following: “Any federal, state, c...

The legislation would be known as the Second Amendment Preservation Act and would prohibit any person; public officer, an employee of the state, or a political subdivision of the state, from enforcing or attempting to enforce any federal acts, laws, executive orders, administrative orders, court orders, rules, regulations, statutes or ordinances infringing on the right to keep and bear arms.

The temporary director of Maine’s public defense agency likened his first month on the job to a doctor performing “triage” as he has tried to restore financial and operational integrity to a fraught state agency. Justin Andrus intended to reopen his private law practice late last year, but instead was asked to help the Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services, or MCILS, get back on track. It’s been one month since he joined as interim executive director of the agency responsible for ...

The Utah House unanimously gave final approval to a bill that would reform the state’s asset forfeiture laws and opt out of a federal program that allows state and local police to circumvent tighter state asset forfeiture laws by passing cases off to the feds.

HELENA, Mont. (Mar 1, 2021) – On Saturday, the Montana House passed a bill that would ban enforcement of any new federal gun control, a major step toward bringing such federal acts to an end within the state. Rep. Jedediah Hinkle (R-Belgrade) introduced House Bill 258 (HB258) on Jan. 27. The legislation would prohibit police […]

Under the proposed law, adults over 21 would be legally allowed to purchase at least 2 ounces of marijuana and cultivate up to six plants for personal use. The legislation would also create a tax and regulatory structure for the commercial cultivation and sale of marijuana. HB12 includes provisions for the automatic expungement of the records of people convinced for possession of up two 2 ounces of marijuana.

Watchdog report says Maine’s legal defense program for the poor lacks oversight, organization The Legislatures accountability office released the first part of its report on Maines program Monday. Share A state watchdog agency has concluded that Maine’s system for providing legal services to the poor has little organizational structure, lacks oversight and does not have established policies for attorney billing. The Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services has been under scrutiny as law...